Fox Business Network host Deirdre Bolton takes a routine elevator ride with entrepreneurs as part of her program “Risk and Reward.”
She recently spoke to Upstart Business Journal to give tips to those pitching their “elevator pitch.”
Know your material cold: Time is always the enemy, the clearer and more succinct your message, the better. It sounds hokey, but I tell people to practice their pitches at home with a stopwatch, and do it 50 times. Practice until your timing is perfect, practice with a buddy who will listen and offer constructive feedback. Practice in front of a mirror unless you will get distracted by the fact that you really do need a haircut. Be so confident and so practiced so that when you show up in a hustling, bustling lobby after an annoying taxi ride, you will be unshakeable.
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The business anchor also recommends researching the person you’re pitching to, preparing a longer pitch just in case, and having a memorable closing line.